Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Review Of Roger Tory Peterson: A Biography By Douglas Carlson, Laura Erickson

The Prairie Naturalist

August 28, 2008, marks the centennial of Roger Tory Peterson's birth, and books related to the most prominent naturalist of the twentieth century have been sprouting up everywhere. I was disappointed that Douglas Carlson shied away from examining Peterson's personal life to provide insights into the forces and relationships that shaped, and were shaped by, this man so consumed with birds. Instead, Carlson focuses almost entirely on Peterson's work, writing, "Because his death is so recent, there are many who have a personal investment in his story; beyond a request for an interview, no attempts have been made to invade …

Breeding By The Snowy Plover In North Dakota And South Dakota, Carol Aron, Paul Van Ningten, Michael Rabenberg, Cheryl Jacobs, Greg Pavelka, Ricky D. Olson

The Prairie Naturalist

The snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) is a small shorebird that breeds on unvegetated beaches along coastlines, rivers, and alkaline lakes. In North America, its breeding distribution extends along the coasts of California, Oregon, and southern Washington, where the population is listed as federally threatened (USFWS 1993), and an interior population occurs on wetlands in western and central states and central Mexico (Page et al. 1995). There have been rare breeding reports in Montana, Wyoming, and Saskatchewan (Page et al. 1995), but no documented breeding records in North Dakota or South Dakota. However, the United States Army Corps of Engineers reported …

Raptor Use Of Artificial Perches At Natural Areas, City Of Fort Collins, Colorado, G. W. Witmer, Michael Pipas, Patrick Burke, David Rouse, Donna Dees, Karen Manci

The Prairie Naturalist

The black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) remains a critical element of the prairie ecosystem even though its numbers and occupied range have declined dramatically since the arrival of Europeans in North America (Antol in et al. 2002). Prairie dog colonies are used by many species of wildlife and help maintain high levels of biodiversity (Kotliar et al. 1999). In the urban-suburban setting, the occurrence of prairie dog colonies also provides opportunities for wildlife viewing and environmental education. Unfortunately, prairie dogs also can come into conflict with humans, especially in the urban-suburban setting, where they cause vegetation and property …

Low Reproductive Success Of Mallards In A Grassland-Dominated Landscape In The Sandhills Of Nebraska, Johann A. Walker, Zach J. Cunningham, Mark P. Vrtiska, Scott E. Stephens, Larkin Powell

The Prairie Naturalist

The Sandhills of Nebraska comprise approximately 5,000,000 ha of native grassland interspersed with numerous groundwater-fed wetlands. A substantial population of the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) nests in this region. Previous investigations of nest survival probability of ducks in the Sandhills have estimated surprisingly low rates of nest survival for a grassland-dominated landscape. These investigations were conducted on public lands and most nest searching took place near wetlands where activity of nest predators might be highest. We predicted that mallards would nest at varying distances from wetlands and that survival probability of a representative sample of duck nests would increase …

Terrapene Ornata (Ornate Box Turtle) Predation On Cliff Swallows, Mary Bomberger Brown, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

During a 25-year study of Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska, we observed Terrapene ornata prey, or attempt to prey, on swallows. On one occasion as large numbers of birds flushed and hit the net, the weight of the birds pulled the net down to ground level. One T. ornata, which was seen regularly at the colony, approached one adult Cliff Swallow that was very low in the net and killed it by biting and eating its head. After killing the bird, the turtle walked away carrying the head.

Mammals Of Nebraska: Checklist, Key, And Bibliography, Hugh H. Genoways, Justin D. Hoffman, Patricia Freeman, Kenneth N. Geluso, Russell A. Benedict, Jeffrey J Huebschman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Staff and Affiliates, Publications

The Recent mammalian fauna of Nebraska is composed of 89 native species, 8 domestic species that can have feral populations, and 4 wild species introduced by humans, but not by intentional action. Thus, the included checklist and dichotomous key contain 101 species of mammals. Of the native species, 36 are rodents, 20 carnivores, 13 bats, 7 shrews and mole, 7 even-toed ungulates, 4 rabbits and hares, 1 armadillo, and 1 opossum. Another 8 species are identified as potentially occurring in peripheral areas of Nebraska. The bibliography includes 1693 entries that each contain data concerning one or more species of mammals …

Use Of Passive Integrated Transponders In Hatchling Texas Horned Lizards, Scott E. Henke

The Prairie Naturalist

The Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) is a Texas state-threatened species and acquisition of data related to the species' ecology is essential. To accomplish this task individual animals need to be marked. Many marking techniques are available for lizards, however the majority of techniques have been tested on adults only. Studies involving hatchling and juvenile horned lizards are scarce due to problems associated with marking and relocating individuals in these age classes. I demonstrated that injection of passive integrated transponders (PIT's) can safely be used as a marking method in young Texas horned lizards. Thirty-two captive bred hatchling lizards were …

Mortality Of An American Marten From An Off-Highway Vehicle, Joshua B. Smith, Jonathan A. Jenks

The Prairie Naturalist

While there are several reviews of the effects of OHVs and recreational activity on wildlife populations (Knight and Gutzwiller 1995, Joslin and Youmans 1999), most studies have focused on physiological (Creel et al. 2002) or behavioral (Van Dyke et al. 1986, Riley et al. 2003) responses to disturbance; none have addressed the potential for direct mortality. In 2005, we documented the death from an OHV of a juvenile, female American marten (F299) that had been radiocollared during a study documenting the distribution and abundance of American marten in the Black Hills, South Dakota (Smith 2007); the Institutional Animal Care and …

Interagency Science And Research Strategy, Limnological Assistance For Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Limnological Studies

Helping improve operational efficiency, enhance land stewardship, resource protection, and conservation on the shared public land.

Ecological Consequences Of Invasion Of The Quagga Mussel (Dreissena Bugensis Andrusov 1897) Into Lake Mead, David Wong, Shawn Gerstenberger, Todd Tietjen, Sara Ann Mueting, Eric Michael Loomis

Limnological Studies

Consequences of Invasion of the Quagga Mussel into Lake Mead

Sex-Specific Feeding Rates And Provisioning Of Fruit To Nestling Bell's Vireo, Greg H. Farley

The Prairie Naturalist

Provisioning of fruit to nestlings and possible sex-specific differences in feeding rate have not been reported for Bell's vireo (Vireo bellii; Brown 1993). While studying nesting ecology of Bell's vireo on Konza Prairie Biological Station, Geary and Riley counties, Kansas, I quantified feeding rate by sex and food type delivered to nestlings. Sex was determined by capturing adults with mist-nets and inspecting for a cloacal protuberance, as well as conducting behavioral observations of uniquely-marked individuals. Males sing regularly while moving around territories, as well as during incubation (Nolan 1960). I assigned "female" to the individual in these socially …

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Vegetation Monitoring And Analysis: Quarterly Progress Report, October 1, 2007 To December 31, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Vegetation Monitoring

Executive Summary

• The Weed Sentry program surveyed more than 750 miles of federal lands in Clark County for invasive, exotic plant species.
• Weed Sentry also removed more than 600,000 individual invasive plants from federal
  lands. These removals represent pro-active efforts that may have forestalled large
  infestations difficult and costly to eradicate.
• In response to a request by the manager of the Fish and Wildlife Service Desert National
  Wildlife Refuge, a major effort of surveying springs for plant community composition
  and invasive plants provided unique knowledge services by the Weed Sentry program.
  No such baseline information existed for the Sheep Range. …

Concurrent Panel Session 1: Environmental Sustainability And Las Vegas, Dale A. Devitt, David E. James, Patricia Mulroy, Alan O'Neill, Thomas C. Piechota, Doug Selby, Krystyna Anne Stave, Michael Yackira, Bruce Turner

Shaping the Future of Southern Nevada: Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability

Moderator: Dr. Stan Smith, UNLV School of Life Sciences Scribe: Crystal Jackson, UNLV Department of Sociology Conference white paper & Full summary of panel session, 6 pages

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Vegetation Monitoring And Analysis: Year-End Progress Report, October 1, 2006 To September 30, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Vegetation Monitoring

Executive Summary

• The Weed Sentry program surveyed more than 750 miles of federal lands in Clark County for invasive, exotic plant species.
• Weed Sentry also removed more than 600,000 individual invasive plants from federal
  lands. These removals represent pro-active efforts that may have forestalled large
  infestations difficult and costly to eradicate.
• In response to a request by the manager of the Fish and Wildlife Service Desert National
  Wildlife Refuge, a major effort of surveying springs for plant community composition
  and invasive plants provided unique knowledge services by the Weed Sentry program.
  No such baseline information existed for the Sheep Range. …

Land Cover Types Of The Las Vegas Wash, Nevada, Seth A. Shanahan, Dave Silverman, Art Ehrenberg

Publications (WR)

Vegetation type, extent, continuity, and structure are some of the most important factors that determine wildlife diversity and distribution. Other contributing factors that shape wildlife communities include disturbance, competition, climate, and water availability. Because vegetation communities in the southwestern U.S. gradate sharply along zones of soil moisture, wildlife are often restricted to specific vegetation types. Along the Las Vegas Wash (Wash), Nevada, more than 250 wildlife species have been documented to occur in distinct wetland, riparian, and upland vegetation types. Recent studies have investigated the diversity and distribution of amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals, and reptiles (Shanahan 2005, 2005a, Van Dooremolen …

The Prairie Naturalist, Volume 39, No. 2 June 2007

The Prairie Naturalist

USING DISTANCE SAMPLING TO ESTIMATE DENSITIES OF WHlTE-TAILED DEER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL MINNESOTA, M. A. LaRue, C. K. Nielsen, and M. D. Grund

BURROWING OWL ASSOCIATIONS WITH BLACK-TAILED PRAIRIE DOG COLONIES IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS AND SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO, S. L. Winter and J. F. Cully, Jr.

OPTIMAL FORAGING IN EASTERN FOX SQUIRREL: FOOD SIZE MATTERS FOR A GENERALIST FORAGER, R. Tatina

IN MEMORIAM: ROBERT N. RANDALL. C. Talkington

Editor's Note regarding Christmas Bird Count

OCCURRENCES OF SMALL MAMMAL SPECIES IN A MIXEDGRASS PRAIRIE IN NORTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA, R. K. Murphy, R. A. Sweitzer, and J. D. Albertson

SILPHIDAE (INSECTA: COLEOPTERA) COLLECTED IN …

Burrowing Owl Associations With Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colonies In Southwestern Kansas And Southeastern Colorado, Stephen L. Winter, Jack F. Cully Jr.

The Prairie Naturalist

We quantified the use of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies as habitat for the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) in southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado. We used incidental sightings and breeding season avifauna surveys to document the presence of the burrowing owl on black-tailed prairie dog colonies, non-colonized rangeland, and cropland during the spring and early summer. Burrowing owl rarely was observed on noncolonized rangeland and cropland sites, and black-tailed prairie dog colonies appear to be used substantially as a habitat type for the burrowing owl in the region encompassing Cimarron and Commanche National Grasslands in …

Editor's Note Regarding Christmas Bird Count, Elmer J. Finck

The Prairie Naturalist

Lawrence Igl has agreed to summarize the North Dakota Christmas Bird Counts for submission to The Prairie Naturalist. We plan to have a short biography for Larry when the first summary is published. Elmer J. Finck, Editor

Notes On Black-Footed Ferret Detectability And Behavior, David S. Jachowski

The Prairie Naturalist

Despite over two decades of recovery efforts, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) remains one of the least understood and most critically endangered mammals in North America. Once extinct in the wild, over 2,400 captive-born individuals of black-footed ferret (hereafter referred to as ferret) have been released at 13 reintroduction sites ranging from northern Montana to Chihuahua, Mexico, since 1991. However, ferret populations currently are considered to be self-sustaining at only two sites in South Dakota and a single site in Wyoming (United States Fish and Wildlife Service 2006). To understand why ferret recovery is not succeeding at a …

Silphidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) Collected In North Central North Dakota, Including New Occurrences Of Thanatophilus Sagax (Mannerheim),, Guy A. Hanley

The Prairie Naturalist

Members of the beetle family Silphidae are relatively large (10-35 mm) and often brightly colored insects. They usually are found in association with dead animal bodies (carrion), but some are phytophagous while others are predatory. Thirty endemic species are known to occur in North America north of Mexico (Ratcliffe 1996), and 17 species in North Dakota. (Hanley et aI., unpublished data). To date, there has been little to no silphid collection data available from north central North Dakota counties, due mostly to the lack of entomological research in the area.

Nine species of silphids were collected in a single season …

Optimal Foraging In Eastern Fox Squirrel: Food Size Matters For A Generalist Forager, Robert Tatina

The Prairie Naturalist

Classical optimal foraging theory (OFT) predicts that an animal forages optimally when it chooses foods with the highest energy benefit or minimizes time searching for and handling food. r evaluated OFT by presenting eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) multiple food items (i.e., sunflower seeds and • fruits) in various density combinations. When the choice was between foods of equal energy benefits but different costs, they chose forage items with greater costs, seemingly not foraging optimally. However, individuals showed a partial preference for food items which minimized search time, but not handling time. The eastern fox squirrel also was …

Review Of Appreciating Your Feathered Neighbors, By Dana Gardner And Nancy Overcott, Melinda G. Knutson

The Prairie Naturalist

Fifty Common Birds of the Upper Midwest. Watercolors by Dana Gardner; text by Nancy Overcott. 2006. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa. 106 pages. $34.95 (cloth).

What's the best way to interest a friend in bird watching? Buy them a field guide, a CD of bird songs, or take them out bird watching? All of these ideas might work, but another approach is to tell personal stories and draw pictures of common birds in yards, parks, and natural areas where they live; help them "get to know their neighbors with feathers." That's exactly what Dana Gardner and Nancy Overcott …

In Memoriam Robert N. Randall, October 26, 1915 - January 30, 2007, Clark Talkington

The Prairie Naturalist

Among his friends, Bob Randall will be remembered as a caring, gentle man. Bob was one of those rare individuals who had a keen awareness of everyone around him. In social settings, he would make sure that everyone was comfortable, and it was always clear that he was genuinely concerned about everyone. Those who knew him will greatly miss his gentle nature and enthusiasm for birds. He never got caught up in all of his achievements. He had a sense of balance to his life which was evident in his many interests including birding and bird banding, rocks and minerals, …

First Record Of Field Speedwell From South Dakota, Robert Tatina

The Prairie Naturalist

Veronica agrestis L. (field speedwell or green field speedwell), a member of the Scrophulariaceae, is a small, weedy, prostrate annual with blue or white flowers (Gleason and Cronquist 1991). Until recently, its distribution included most of the eastern half of the United States and the southern two-thirds of the Great Plains, but not South Dakota (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VEAG &photoID=veag_001_avd.tif, accessed 5 February 2007). Neither the Great Plains Flora Association (1986) nor Van Bruggen (1996) includes this species in the flora of South Dakota; however, the former has it naturalized in southeastern Nebraska and in Iowa (Great Plains Flora Association 1986). In May, …

Using Distance Sampling To Estimate Densities Of White-Tailed Deer In South-Central Minnesota, Michelle A. Larue, Clayton K. Nielsen, Marrett D. Grund

The Prairie Naturalist

Distance sampling is a method of estimating population abundance and density used by wildlife biologists for several species because of its advantages relative to other techniques. However, few wildlife biologists have used distance sampling to estimate abundance of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). We describe a distance sampling technique used to estimate prehunt and post-hunt population densities of deer in Watonwan County, Minnesota. Estimates of white-tailed deer density were compared between distance sampling versus population modeling, and costs for distance sampling versus aerial surveys were determined. We drove 2,704 km during 24 spotlight surveys conducted from 21 October to …

Marshes-In Photos And Words. Review Of Marshes: The Disappearing Edens By Bill Burt, Douglas H. Johnson

The Prairie Naturalist

Bill Burt has done it again. The author of two superbly illustrated books (Shadowbirds and Rare and Elusive Birds of North America) that were reviewed earlier in this journal, Burt has returned with another excellent book, this one focusing on marshes. Like his earlier books, Marshes features wonderful close-up views of many hard-to-photograph birds. Here, in addition, are grand images of marsh landscapes and other marsh denizens, especially plants. Burt best characterizes his own book, which he intends as "an evocation and exploration, rather than a catalog of marshland life." He tells of his 30 years spent prowling …

Occurrences Of Small Mammal Species In A Mixedgrass Prairie In Northwestern North Dakota,, Robert K. Murphy, Richard A. Sweitzer, John D. Albertson

The Prairie Naturalist

Documentation is limited for many species of vertebrates in the northern Great Plains, particularly northwestern North Dakota (Bailey 1926, Hall 1981). Here we report relative abundances of small « 450 g) species of mammals that were captured incidental to surveys of amphibians and reptiles at Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (LNWR) in northwestern North Dakota from 1985 to 1987 and 1999 to 2000. Our records include a modest range extension for one species. We also comment on relationships of small mammals on the refuge to vegetation changes associated with fire and grazing disturbances.

First Record Of Corisella Inscripta (Uhler) (Heteroptera: Corixidae) From North Dakota, Bruce A. Hanson, David M. Mushet, Ned A. Euliss Jr., Stephen Chordas Iii

The Prairie Naturalist

Corisella inscripta is a water boatman species that was reported in H. B. Hungerford's (1948) seminal monograph as occurring throughout Mexico and nine western states of the United States. Subsequently, additional records of C. inscripta have been reported for British Columbia in Canada (Maw et al. 2000) and for Montana (Roemhild 1976), Arkansas (Cochran and Harp 1990), Missouri (Polhemus et al. 1988), Ohio (Chordas and Armitage 1998), and Michigan (Chordas et al. 2002) in the United States. There have been no published records of C. inscripta from North Dakota (Fig. I). We collected one male C. inscripta at the Cottonwood …

Review Of Some Scarce Birds Of The Upper Midwest By Dana Gardner And Nancy Overcott, Stephen J. Dinsmore

The Prairie Naturalist

Fifty Uncommon Birds of the Upper Midwest. Watercolors by Dana Gardner; text by Nancy Overcott. 2007. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa. 112 pages. $34.95 (cloth).

Nancy Overcott has written series of short essays of birds found in the Upper Midwest and assembled them in an easy-to-read book. As an ornithologist and avid birder in this region, I'll admit that I didn't know what to expect when I opened the cover-would the focus be on rarities, would there be an identification component, are there tips for finding each species, and at what audience was the book aimed? Ultimately, I …

Linking Flux Network Measurements To Continental Scale Simulations: Ecosystem Carbon Dioxide Exchange Capacity Under Non-Water-Stressed Conditions, Katherine B. Owen, John Tenhunen, Markus Reichstein, Quan Wang, Eva Falge, Ralf Geyer, Xiangming Xiaos, Paul Stoy, Christof Ammann, Altaf Arain, Marc Aubinet, Mika Aurela, Christian Bernhofer, Bogdan Chojnicki, Andre Granier, Thomas Gruenwald, Julian Hadley, Bernard Heinesch, David Hollinger, Alexander Knohl, Werner Kutsch, Annalea Lohila, Tilden Meyers, Eddy Moors, Christine Moureaux, Kim Pilegaard, Nobuko Saigusa, Shashi Verma, Timo Vesala, Chris Vogel

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This paper examines long-term eddy covariance data from 18 European and 17 North American and Asian forest, wetland, tundra, grassland, and cropland sites under nonwater- stressed conditions with an empirical rectangular hyperbolic light response model and a single layer two light-class carboxylase-based model. Relationships according to ecosystem functional type are demonstrated between empirical and physiological parameters, suggesting linkages between easily estimated parameters and those with greater potential for process interpretation. Relatively sparse documentation of leaf area index dynamics at flux tower sites is found to be a major difficulty in model inversion and flux interpretation. Therefore, a simplification of the …